Psych 1010
by Shahrezad1
Summary: The onset of higher education can have its own set of pitfalls. A short, humorous RedXCricket AU one-shot.


Psych 1010

By Shahrezad1

Summary: The onset of higher education can have its own set of pitfalls. A short, humorous RedXCricket AU one-shot.

Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, so please don't sue. :)

~/~/~

"How's the required reading going?"

It was a regular question, the kind you might ask a schoolmate while waiting in line. Which she was, legs jangling back and forth in effort to get them warm again. Spring semester was just a two weeks in and she was already loathing it. Loathing the teachers, the commute, the parking and most especially the weather.

_Plus insanely long lines in the book store_, she added wryly as she eyed the eternal wait before her, only two ancient cashiers working their way through a bevy of students. Around them their fellow peers were tapping away rapidly at cellphones or iPods, ears jammed with devices to silence out one another. A few were even playing with handheld gaming devices and Ruby instantly labeled them as recent post-high schoolers; a merciless judgment but one that she knew was _mostly_ true—for once you were taking college or university classes one didn't typically have time for things like that.

Ashley shook her head and sighed, arms full of books, and an awkwardly shaped diaper bag thrown over one shoulder, "not all that great, unfortunately. I have the hardest time focusing now that Alexandra's born. It seems like every second I turn around she needs something, and it's really hard with Sean working all the time."

"At least the college has a daycare," Ruby remarked optimistically and her blonde friend nodded, relief evident.

"Thank heavens for that. Otherwise I don't think I'd have been able to go back to school at all."

The taller woman smiled at the thought. Going back to school had been a longtime goal for the two friends. For although they had graduated at the same time, full of good grades, high hopes and plenty of scholarship opportunities, life has backhanded the both of them. First with Ashley's unexpected pregnancy and impromptu marriage to her high school sweetheart (not a bad thing, necessarily, just unexpected), and secondly by way of Ruby's Grandmother having a heart attack. Both of them had had to put their dreams on hold until a later time, and fortunately or unfortunately now was that time.

At the resident Community College.

It wasn't The University of Maine by any degree, but it was a start. But at Storybrooke Community Ruby could earn her general education credits for less money and then transfer them over to where she actually _wanted_ to go.

"What about you?"

"Hmm?" the brunette had become lost in thought for a moment, eyes wandering over to the man standing before them in line. Dressed in a blue button-up and a brown sweater-vest, he was a solid shape, calm and collected and thoughtful in comparison to the distraction-centric students around him. And while the fluorescent tubing above them wasn't usually a flattering light source, in this case it was shone down upon his curly hair, making it seem redder than it probably was. His shirtsleeves had also been rolled up to his elbows, despite the cold, revealing strong forearms and steady, solid hands. It was an appealing feature, and she had a soft spot for rolled up sleeves on any man.

"I said, 'what about you?' You know, the required reading."

"Oh!" looking embarrassed a moment, Ruby fumbled with her bag in order to shift it from the shoulder it was threatening to slide off of, "actually, it went pretty well. I mean, it's a pleasant read, when you finally get around to picking it up," her friend muttered something about only doing so when her daughter was asleep, but the Lucas girl chose to ignore it for the moment, "the narrative was interesting but not, you know, preachy."

"You mean like our textbook?" Ashley prompted blandly, lips lifting in a subtle smirk.

Ruby's own crimson lips twisted into a wry smile, "Mills and Glass don't exactly making for the most interesting reading, no. It feels like they'd be better off writing on government analysis than psychology. You know, _'How to Take Over the Minds of Others, For Dummies.'_"

There was a cough from just in front of her, and Ruby started in surprise. Then before her startled gaze she watched as the shoulders of the redhead in front of her started to shake, arms crossed over his chest as though either laughing or having a seizure. Maybe both.

Ashley didn't notice, checking a new text on her phone with a frown, "so what makes the other book different?"

Still wondering at their 'line companion's reaction, she paused a moment, lips pursed and brows furrowed in thought. But she knew that she eventually had to respond, and so flicked her eyes to her schoolmate.

"Well…A.J. Hopper really knows his stuff, for one," there was a scuff of shoes and when Ruby turned her head to look the guy in front of them had seemingly frozen. But that soon shifted to him casually placing one of his hands in his pockets, the other out of line of sight. Which really was too bad, he had lovely hands.

The Lucas girl continued, slightly distracted still. After all, why would the stranger be listening in? It wasn't as though the conversation was anything more than a school-related discussion, "…but he makes certain that his readers understand it, too. His 'tone' is pleasant and intelligent, and he doesn't talk down to anyone in the text. If I've lost any brain cells reading '_Psych 101, Storybrooke Community Edition_,' then at least I've gotten them back through, _'Conscience versus the Natural Man: Id, Ego, and Superego.'_"

Ashley laughed slightly, putting her phone away, "literature nerd."

Ruby knew her best friend well enough to not get offended, and so instead laughed, "it's not like I can help it—considering that that's my degree."

"No, General Studies is your degree," the Boyd girl disagreed as they both took a few shuffling steps forward, watching the cashier slowly work on her next transaction, "Fairytales are what you want to go into."

"I love that stuff more than I care to admit," Ruby intoned pseudo-reverently.

The young mother's tone was bland, "you're all about the sex and violence."

This time the man in front of them choked, coughing slightly, and Ruby smiled, wickedly. _Gotcha._ Well, at least she now had confirmation that he was, in fact, eavesdropping and that his actions hadn't been circumstantial.

"Oh, yeah, that's totally it," she said, trying to sound as honest as she possibly could despite the sly expression developing on her face, "and do you know what else I love?" Ruby began, giving her companion a significant look and jerking her chin at the man in front of them. Ashley's expression furrowed in puzzlement until she looked over, registered the blush developing along the back of his ears and neck, and pursed her lips into a sudden moue of understanding.

"…what?" the blonde prompted carefully, wondering where this new bout of mischief was going.

"Redheads. With strong hands," she stated clearly, and this time the listener did turn around.

He was older than she'd expected, but also less stern and serious, given his serious apparel. She could tell in an instant of visual scanning that he smiled often but worried much, as indicated by the creases around his mouth, eyes, and the furrows in his brows. And while his expression was flustered, due no doubt to her words, any irritation he might have held melted into an ironic smile. As though recognizing her little parry for what it was. Not an intent to hurt or harm, but merely to tease.

He wasn't her type, true, but he was definitely cute, and in another situation and another time she might have asked him out.

In the wake of that startling epiphany, her green eyes widened and his light baby blues locked on, holding the connection and continuing to make contact. First as both of their smirks deepened and then when it morphed into something softer. At that point Ruby was surprised to find that her smile had disappeared altogether, heart lurching unexpectedly as his clear vision seemed to look straight through to the marrow of her bones and the blood pumping in her veins. Seeing something deeper than a smart mouth, big hair and a snarky attitude.

"I can take the next person!" the elderly cashier's voice rang out, clear and cantankerous as the steel-haired matron broke the moment.

_But…had it really been a moment_, her mind asked, blinking rapidly?

Her victim saluted her with the Apollo bar that he'd been holding on to and headed to the front, just as she was pondering actually giving the older man her number.

"I think that he heard you," Ashley remarked under her breath in the understatement of the century. She was still not quite sure what to make of the exchange but knew that Ruby never did anything without a definite reason.

"Let him hear me," she only murmured back, "I was telling the truth. So he should take the compliment for what it was."

"Hmm," Ashley raised her eyebrows but said no more, allowing the comment to lie.

"I'm open for checkout!" the other cashier called, but by the time Ruby got up there she was disappointed to find him gone. Ashley tagged along as the brunette paid for her textbooks, the two saying nothing.

"Ready for class?" Ruby finally asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be. I swear, Professor Gold likes to play with our minds just for fun."

~/~/~

Psychology 1010 was held in what was termed the "Boiler" of the building. Not a literal heating station, it was so named for the fact that it was on the top floor, warmth rising from below and heating vents charging at, "full steam ahead." That being said, Ruby's immediate concern was that of divesting herself of her backpack and heavy coat. Thus she didn't notice at first when it wasn't, in fact, Professor Gold standing next to the whiteboard.

The tall brunette landed herself in her seat with a heavy sigh, flicking her long hair over one shoulder. Ashley followed her lead, sitting behind and settling her burdened down. But unlike the latter, Ruby froze midway into straightening her outfit, leaning slightly forward, as the figure in front of her turned from what he was writing.

"Good morning, everyone. I am Doctor Archi-," words failed the man as his eyes widened behind horn-rimmed glasses. He appeared honestly startled, then a small smile flickered into life before being tamed down into a vaguely pleasant expression.

Ruby felt horror rushing over her as an accumulation of thoughts pelted her from all sides.

The man from the bookstore. Was her teacher.

Or at least, someone standing in for their regular teacher, Rupert Gold.

Her feelings regarding what she'd done—what she'd _said_—must have shown on her face like words on a billboard, but all that passed through his expression was a flicker of awareness. There was nothing like the smirk that she'd shot him before, nor did he embarrass her unnecessarily the way she had him. Only a subtle form of acknowledgement before he went on, beginning the class.

He cleared his throat again, turning his back to the room as he fought back a smile, "anyway, as I was saying, Good morning everyone. Professor Gold's wife just had a new baby boy, so I'll be standing in for him for the next week or so," he set down the marker, and only then did she notice that he'd rolled down his sleeves. Such a pity, "my name is Archibald Hopper. And if that name sounds familiar it's probably because you've seen it before."

The substitute teacher smiled bashfully as he pulled out a paperback copy of the novel she'd just been discussing just minutes before. And with an even stronger feeling of shame Ruby shifted lower in her seat, cheeks flashing red with shame. Behind her Ashley jabbed her between the shoulders with the back of her pencil, but she ignored the action, gaze front and center.

"Gold is an old friend of mine, so it worked out for both of us that I was able to cover for him. That being said, if you have any questions during the course of the week need to contact me, this is my phone number," the words were said pointedly, eyes directed on a specific dark-haired young woman. And if Ruby didn't know any better she might have thought that the action was intentional, "and as a side note…I go by Archie."

His boyish smile spread from cheek to cheek, creasing his face in a sea of laugh lines. And then there was that lurch of something else in her stomach, catching her off guard the same way their earlier stare had.

And the young woman found herself relaxing as the fallout turned into something else.

"Before we begin, let's take roll. Blanchard, Mary Margarent?"

A pretty brunette near the front raised her hand silently.

"Great. Okay, Graham, Hunter?"

On and on the list went, with each name drawing ever-nearer still. Until she knew he was about to draw upon hers.

Doctor Hopper looked down at his sheet carefully, lips mouthing the words before he said them, "Ruby Lucas?"

"Here," the young woman in question called out, and he had to pause a moment as he stared at the page. If she didn't know any better she might have even said that he was trying to memorize the name.

The temp Prof looked at her over his glasses, vision unimpaired as he said softly, but with a full and honest smile on his face, "it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lucas."

Her smile was full, cheeks chapped and unexpected red, "you too, Archie."

~/~/~

AN: Not bagging on Community Colleges, as I've been going to the same one for maaaaany years now (I'll be done soon with two degrees. Yay!).

This was, however, kind of based on my own experiences—in the bookstore, overhearing conversations, being stuck in classes that you loathe. Especially as Spring Semester just started this week.

The "sex and violence" comment is actually a reference to ParaNorman, in which when his mother asks the 11-year old Norman what he's watching down in the basement (cheesy Zombie movies), he responds with, "sex and violence." It's completely deadpan and hilarious and I love it for the irony of the statement. If you haven't seen that scene, I would suggest finding it on Youtube or something similar.

Also, this is kind of an ode to Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin, the ultimate young-old, student-teacher relationship. XD But I made Archie only a substitute teacher for legal reasons… *coughs*


End file.
